Team USA bids for 8th straight FIL U-19 championship in Coquitlam, B.C., with four Philly players

The United States bid for an eighth consecutive Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL) U19 Men’s World Championship begins on Thursday night with a showdown against rival Canada in Coquitlam, British Columbia.

The U.S., led by head coach Nick Myers (Ohio State head coach), is one of 14 nations competing in this years championship. The U.S. is joined by Australia, Canada, England and the Iroquois Nationals in the Blue Division, and will play pool play games against each of those four nations. The playoffs begin on July 13 and the event concludes with the championship on July 16.

All 47 games from the event will be streamed live by SportsCanadaTV. Daily subscriptions are $8 (CDN) and the complete event package costs $45 (CDN). You can subscribe at worldlax.tv

The first Under-19 World Championship was sanctioned by the International Lacrosse Federation (ILF) in Adelaide, Australia, in 1988, with the U.S. defeating Canada for gold. Since then, Team USA has gone on to win the next six world championships. Since 2008, the Under-19 World Championship has fallen under the direction of the Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL).

Entering the 2012 event in Turku, Finland, the U.S. boasted a perfect 36-0 mark in international play. Team USA extended its unbeaten mark with a pool play win over Australia before losing for the first time ever in round-robin action to Canada, 11-9 in overtime. After a win over England, the U.S. lost again in pool play to the Iroquois Nationals, 15-13, and entered the medal round as underdogs for the first time.

The U.S. responded by avenging both losses, first knocking off the Iroquois 12-7 in the semifinals, then topping Canada 10-8 for the gold medal. After claiming its seventh consecutive gold medal in as many attempts, the U.S. U19 team enters the 2016 championship with an all-time record of 41-2.

In addition to the five Blue Division teams, this year’s championship includes Germany, Hong Kong, Israel, Mexico and Taiwan in the Red Division and China, Ireland, Korea and Scotland in the Green Division.

The USA 25-man roster, by position with high school, high school graduation year and college noted: